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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bank — of a river
  5. root — of a word
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — the animal
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. dip — to sink
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. shower — to wash
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bank — for money
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bank — for money
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com